Mailchimp, which is identified as an email marketing software, over the years have been adding automation and CRM features with its offering. Now, they also include domain name search, website design & hosting through a website builder. For small and medium businesses, Mailchimp thus strives to provide one stop umbrella for all their online marketing needs.
Mailchimp also has a form builder by which one can create inline and popup forms. Inline forms are static forms that you can attach with a post/page or widget positions. Popup forms are dynamic forms that do not have any url associated but shows up on existing web pages of your site based on timing, exit intent, geolocation, or other such parameters.
Having said that no software is designed to do all things at its best, WPForms is specialized in generating online forms for WordPress sites only. Their narrow focus helps enhance their offering as the whole team strives to accomplish limited set of objectives in the best way.
While you can certainly create a signup form or subscribe us form with Mailchimp, you might miss the following features that come with WPForms:
With Mailchimp, you are getting an option to create a popup form. This is something that WPForms will not provide, being focused on static, inline forms. For popup forms, there is OptinMonster with features like exit intent, coupon wheel campaigns, and geolocation targeting.
So, savvy marketers use Mailchimp integrating with WPForms and OptinMonster.
Here is the process to integrate Mailchimp with WPForms in eight steps:
(1) Install and activate the WPForms plugin (for beginners, refer How to Install a WordPress Plugin – Step by Step for Beginners).
(2) Next, WPForms » Addons and find and activate the Mailchimp Addon.
(3) Next, create a new form going to WPForms » Add New.
Name your form on the setup screen. For this demo, I choose Newsletter Signup Form template.
You get a default Newsletter Signup Form created.
You can customize with whole host of options ranging from different types of fields, conditional logic, and payments option.
(4) Connect your form to Mailchimp.
Go to Marketing » Mailchimp.
Click Add New Connection.
A pop up will ask to name this connection.
(5) Need to add Mailchimp API Key, which you get by signing in to your Mailchimp account.
Move to Your Profile » Extras » API Keys.
Next, copy and paste API Key into WPForms and confirm.
(6) Once API key filled, select your Mailchimp account. pick the email list in which new subscribers will be added. If conditional logic applies to the form, Enable conditional logic. If desired, double optin option can be enabled.
Configure notifications to be sent an email whenever new form submitted.
(7) Configure confirmations that users will receive on the screen once form submitted. This can be a Message on the screen, visitors taken to a particular page of the website (Show Page), or taken to a different website by opting Go to URL (Redirect).
(8) Add Mailchimp Subscribe Form to Your Site which can be on your post, page, or widget location. Let’s take a look at the post / page embed option. Start by creating a new post or page in WordPress and then click on the Add Form button.
Next, select your subscribe form from the dropdown menu and click Add Form.
Congratulations! You have automated the process such that any form submission is configured with Mailchimp.
